Now normally I spend my book budget on out-of-print books, but this caught my eye the other day, "
Stunning Eastern Design 1949 - 1989" by Ralf E Ulrich and Ernst Hedler and I just had to have it. It's published by
Taschen as part of their 25th Anniversary collection, so a bargain at £7.99!
It's packed full of fantastic products and some really wonderful packaging. Above are some of my favourites; I particularly like the tablet boxes at the top - so clean and minimal with nice use of colour accross the range.
The products formed part of an exhibition in 1989, "SED - Schöchnes Einheitsdesign" at the Galerie Habernall, Dreieich, near Frankfurt giving an insight into the consumer culture of former East Germany. Unfortunately though after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the currency union many of these products could not compete in a worldwide market and fell by the wayside. Collections like this are the only places they can still be seen.
Images taken from the book and copyright Ernst Hedler.
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